Adair County, Oklahoma
Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 22,638. Its county seat is Stilwell. Adair County was named after the Adair family of the Cherokee tribe. History The county was created in 1906 from the Goingsnake and Flint districts of the Cherokee Nation. There was a decade-long struggle over what town would become the county seat between Stilwell and Westville.Barker, Betty Starr, "Stilwell," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed June 13, 2010). During the Great Depression and World War II, strawberries became a major crop in Adair County. In 1948, the first Stilwell Strawberry Festival was organized. The 2002 festival saw some 40,000 people in attendance. The 1910 census counted 10,535 residents. By 1990, it was up to 18,421. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , most of it land (576 square miles or 1,491 km²) and or 0.24 percent of it water. The county is part of the Ozark plateau uplift, the tree-covered foothills of the Boston Mountains.Whitaker, Rachel, "http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/A/AD003.html," Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed June 13, 2010). North and central Adair County are drained by the Illinois River and three creeks. Two more creeks lie near Stilwell. Major highways * U.S. Highway 59 * U.S. Highway 62 * State Highway 51 Adjacent counties * Delaware County (north) * Benton County, Arkansas (northeast) * Washington County, Arkansas (east) * Crawford County, Arkansas (southeast) * Sequoyah County (south) * Cherokee County (west) National protected area * Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge Demographics As of the census of 2010, Adair County had a small population relative to its surrounding counties, with only 21,038 people, almost half of them (43.3 percent) Native American. The remainder of the population was 43 percent white, 10.5 percent of more than one race, and 5.3 percent Hispanic or Latino. Less than 1 percent of the population was either Black or African American, Asian, or Pacific Islander, and 2.3 percent were identified as other. The median age of the population was 36.2 years and two-thirds of the county's population were either under the age of 18 (28 percent) or between the ages of 25 to 44 (24.8 percent). Of the remaining population, 25.9 percent were ages 45 to 64, 12.9 percent were 65 years of age or older, and 13.2 percent were ages 18 to 24. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males. There were a total of 8,156 households and 5,982 families in the county in 2010. There were 9,142 housing units. Of the 8,156 households, 31.4 percent included children under the age of 18 and slightly more than half (52.7 percent) included married couples living together. 26.7 percent were non-family, 14.2 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8 percent contained a single individual of 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.25. The median income for a household in the county was $27,258, and the median income for a family was $32,930. Males had a median income of $28,370 versus $23,384 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,560. About 25.3 percent of families and 27.8 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.8 percent of those under age 18 and 18.7 percent of those age 65 or over. Cities, towns and communities NRHP sites The following sites in Adair County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: * Adair County Courthouse, Stilwell * Buffington Hotel, Westville * Rev. Jesse Bushyhead Grave, Westville * Golda's Mill, Stilwell * Opera Block, Westville * Beaver Gap, Stilwell References External links * Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Adair County Category:Adair County, Oklahoma Category:Counties of Oklahoma Category:Established in 1907